GrandKid: Redux
by freakyanimegal
Summary: Infamous first fanfic done right...ish. Second-gen. Lloyd and Colette vanish, leaving their toddler behind, thought dead for the most part A simple enough task: to find out if they're alive or not. However it's evident nothing is simple, nothing at all.
1. Chapter 1

**Let's see….eight or nine years ago I wrote the original of this story…**

…

**And it makes my eyes bleed. So, I felt the need to redeem myself….here we go.**

**I expect this story either to be avoided like the plague or for it to be swarmed by the morbidly and/or hopefully curious. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

"Please?"

"No, you're not wandering around this city by yourself," the tall man replied curtly, his eyes closed as he continued walking.

"Grandpa Frank lets me walk around Iselia by myself," the girl pouted, blowing a bit of dark auburn hair out of her face.

"Iselia is a lot different than Sybak, you're staying with me."

"There aren't even any monsters in here!"

"No, worse, there are people, now stay close."

The girl moped but fell in step with her grandfather, arms crossed, muttering. Kratos sighed, glancing down at his granddaughter as they traversed the city street, their feet tapping against the cold tile. Such an impatient child, granted her father wasn't the most patient person in the world but….

"Why do I have to come with you? We're going to see your friend," she sighed.

"Because Dirk and Frank couldn't watch you, stop complaining Cheresea," he stated calmly, "You can socialize with Chala."

"But she hates me," she sighed loudly, glancing aside, muttering under her breath.

"She's simply not very sociable," Kratos frowned, "Her father is much the same way."

"So why are you friends with him then?"

"…" Kratos sighed, "Let's go."

"Can we at least have lunch first-?"

"No,"

She sighed.

"Does that mean we're going to have to eat Mrs. Ka-Fai's cooking?" she mumbled.

Kratos stopped suddenly.

"….Grandpa-?"

"Very well, we can have lunch, let's go."

She grinned a little, thanking the powers that be that her grandfather had a fear of at least one thing: Raine's cooking.

Cheresea ate quickly, having not eaten much since breakfast, but took care to make sure she was eating politely enough not to upset her grandfather with lack of manners. She bit off another hunk of chicken, eying him as he looked out the window, silent.

He didn't eat much, and she knew there was a reason for it, though no one had ever fully explained. Her grandfather wasn't a normal human being, but that was just another fact she had grown up with. Really it wasn't that strange, right? Quite a few of her friends and her family's friends weren't human, or at least weren't normal humans.

"Did you want anything, sir?" the waitress asked.

"No, I'm fine, thank you," he stated, nodding.

"Well…all right, how about you, young lady? Are you all right?" she asked.

Cheresea nodded.

"Yeah, thanks ," she smiled.

She knew she was wondering. They always wondered. He didn't look old enough to be her grandfather, not even her father, and too old to be her brother. Usually when asked, the standard lie was that he was her uncle. It was just something she had to get used to, when around strangers.

"Finish up Cheresea, they're expecting us," he stated.

She nodded, turning her attention back to her lunch.

"I thought you said you were going to eat, though," she asked, looking up at him, "Because you didn't want to eat Mrs. Ka-Fai's food-"

"No, I didn't want to require you to eat it," he said simply.

"Oh," she shrugged. "Why are we going here anyway?"

"I told you, we're visiting," he said simply, his eyes closed.

"Visit?" she huffed a bit, eying him. "But you hate 'socializing'. So why-"

"I've visited him before, why is it only so strange this time?" Kratos sighed, rubbing his face.

"I guess it's not, but- …" she sighed, picking at her food again, "Nevermind."

That was that.

Within a few more minutes they had arrived at the Ka-Fai residence, a girl a year- perhaps two- older than Cheresea opened the door. Her cerulean hair fell to her mid-back, wrapped in a ponytail like that of her father, her cool blue eyes narrowed in displeasure upon the arrival of their guests.

"Wonderful," she muttered, rolling her eyes a bit, "Father, Mother; Kratos and Cheresea are here."

"Yeah, hi Chala," Cheresea sighed, rolling her eyes a bit, "Nice to see you too."

"They're here? Finally, I'd almost thought you'd gotten yourself lost, Kratos," a man bearing the same blue hair stated in almost the same curt tone, walking up behind his daughter.

"Cheresea hadn't had anything to eat," her grandfather replied smoothly, almost with disinterest, "Now then, shall we get to business?"

He hadn't bothered to wait for an explanation, walking right past both half-elves into the home, Cheresea sighing while Chala's father followed after him to the study, leaving her behind with Miss Sunshine.

"So has she asked about them lately?" the half-elf stated as he entered the study behind his human companion, turning and locking the door shut with a small click.

"No. I think she's finally accepted it. It's been a few years now," Kratos said as he approached the desk, pulling open the drawers and pulling out several papers.

"I suppose she'd be considered lucky not to have been old enough to have nightmares, though it would be nice to have some lead as to what happened that night," Yuan continued, his eyes locked on his companion, scanning him intently, as if expecting some kind of sudden reaction

"I'd rather her not remember that night at all," he instead continued in his unfeeling tone.

"Just like her parents," his friend snapped lightly.

"Yuan," he growled warningly, his eyes glancing to the man.

"I'm just saying, she's going to ask again, and then what are you going to tell her? That it was just an accident? You and I both know that's not true," He snorted, crossing his arms.

"We don't know that," he said guardedly, glancing away again, scanning the pages with the notes scribbled upon them, the tomes, the records…

"Don't give me that crap Kratos."

Kratos gritted his teeth slightly, his russet eyes fixated on the rune-inscribed old book he had pulled from the shelf, scanning it intently, attempting to ignore his companion.

"She was two, Yuan, how could she have survived if it wasn't an accident?"

"...Don't be stupid Kratos, you know better than that-"

"The signs were there, all over their home," he continued in his same flat tone, "their bodies weren't. If they are alive then discussing these trivial facts is nothing more than a waste of time. Are you going to assist me or not?"

Yuan sighed deeply, rubbing his face with his hand.

"Fine, I'll help...but you know.." he said quietly, his eyes slowly making their way to the back of Kratos' head, boring into him. "If they are alive, which is unlikely after this long, then there is the ..obvious, solution-"

Kratos didn't speak, he didn't have to. His head whipped around and his wine eyes locked on Yuan's green ones, narrowed dangerously, as if a flame was alight in the human's irises.

The half-elf froze and then looked away, commenting no further on the subject.

"Let's just pick up where we left off shall we?" he said instead, picking up a tome with various notes scribbled on it, seating himself in a chair to scan it over.

"Yes..." Kratos said quietly, frowning as he looked over the data sheet Yuan had come up with the last time. "Let's."

The living room was silent except for the ticking of the clock on the wall and the tapping of Cheresea's fingers on the chair arm, glancing around the room and then to Chala who sat back in the chair across from her, a thick book splayed open in her hands as her eyes scanning the pages intently, all but ignoring anything else in her sphere of existence.

"What are you reading?" the younger girl asked finally, growing agitated by the emptiness.

"A book," the half-elf said flatly, not bothering to even blink so much as look up.

"Yeah, well, about what?"

"Stuff."

Cheresea sighed and slouched back into her spot on the couch, letting out an annoyed puff of air that blew up a few strands of her dark auburn hair. This was so boring. She hated coming here, Mr. and Mrs. Ka-Fai were always busy, her grandfather became busy, and she was just left with Chala, who did the best she could not to acknowledge her presence.

Luckily though, the monotony was broken up quickly enough when a chirping met her ear, turning her head slightly to spot the green creature on her shoulder, her face immediately lighting up.

"Oh! Hey, Fred! Where've you been?"

She smiled and patted the cricket's head with her index finger, smiling as it chirped happily up at her. This, finally, managed to actually acquire Chala's interest.

"It's that insect again?" her eyes glanced up, scanning the creature on her shoulder intently.

"Yeah, Fred," Cheresea nodded with the inflection of stating the sun had come up.

The small creature was looking back at Chala, then up again at Cheresea, looking a little uneasy at the look Chala was giving him. Truthfully, Cheresea had yet to get it through her head that the fact an insect randomly appeared on her shoulder at intervals was something out of the ordinary, though her family and friends had attempted to tell her regularly.

The last time the insect had appeared in this house, Raine had immediately sized the insect, much to Cheresea's protests. Apparently the woman had been waiting for this chance for quite a long time, studying the cricket she had snatched inside a clear container. Cheresea had protested, begging the woman to let her 'friend' go free, while Chala and Yuan assured her there was no force in the world that could stop her. She still didn't understand what the big deal was, he was just a cricket. Sure he showed up anywhere out of nowhere, and he talked to her- or well, he listened to her- but that wasn't so weird was it?

Apparently it was, go figure.

One thing she didn't understand is why he hadn't just disappeared from the container; when she was young she had caught him in her hat and the next thing she knew he was on top of her head. Raine had explained this as the container being made of something called 'polycarbonate' that should 'inhibit magic-based warping'. So apparently her cricket was magical, but that didn't make a lot of sense, what did it matter? A lot of people she knew could use magic. Then Raine had apparently decided that Fred was similar to something she deemed 'The Wonder Chef' and Katz. What a cricket had to do with those weird pink people she couldn't understand or care to find out, seeing as she had freed Fred while Raine had gotten wrapped up in some data she collected from Yuan's computer.

She hadn't been happy.

Then again Fred was pretty weird, crickets usually didn't live really long did they? And Fred had been showing up to her for a long time…she was three maybe? Yeah that was it… She had been crying again, asking when her parents were going to come back- …

_Her little feet trod around the wooden house, tapping against the floor. She'd been looking for a long time now, she always started looking when she got really sad. Grandfather looked like mommy, and that made her miss Mommy; Grandpa Kratos looked like Daddy, and that made her miss Daddy, and Grandpa Dirk would always pick her up when she missed them and tell her they were there, but that made her sad too. She liked them, but she missed Mommy and Daddy, she wanted them too. She didn't call for them, they told her that that wouldn't work, so instead she just looked for them. They didn't let her outside alone, so she just looked around the house, in the closets and under the bed._

_ She couldn't find them, she never could find them. So she plopped down on the ground and sniffed, crying into her little skirt. Why wouldn't they come back? Was she not looking hard enough? Was that it? She tried not to cry very loud, they always would pick her up and take her away when they found her crying, and she didn't want them to pick her up. She didn't want anyone but Mommy and Daddy to pick her up._

_ It was then that the little chirp meet her ears. She blinked the tears from her eyes and looked up, spotting the green insect sitting on the floor in front of her. She sniffed and wiped her eyes, scrunching her little face up in curiosity as she looked at the cricket._

_It chirped again, tilting its head like she saw Noishe do sometimes. She sniffed again, looking around and then reached out a little hand to poke it. The cricket hopped backwards, but chirped again, still looking at her. Frustrated, she tried to touch it again, ultimately ending up with her chasing the cricket along the floor on all fours, her blue eyes locked in determination. _

_ Eventually she jumped and cupped the bug in her hands, a grin splitting her face at her victory. _

"_I got you-!" _

_With a chirp the bug appeared on top of her hands, tilting its head again._

_She stared._

"_Huh-?"_

She didn't remember much after that, though she vaguely remembered one of her grandfathers coming in and taking her downstairs. Ever since then Fred had just showed up now and then, she had just stopped questioning it after a few times. Besides, he always seemed to show up when she was sad, and then they'd play chase or sometimes he'd chirp a song to her. He made her happy, and kids just didn't question stuff that made them happy, she guessed...

A loud chirping scattered her thoughts and she barely dodged when Chala had made a swipe for the cricket on her shoulder, nearly falling off the couch as she did so.

"H- Hey! Chala stop it!"

"Hold still!" she snapped, not at her but at the green bug hopping frantically across the room.

"Chala knock it off! You're scaring him!" she cried, trying to grab the older girl's arm.

"It won't hurt at all! I just want to-"

There was a loud thud, as somewhere between the elder trying to snatch the insect and the younger trying to hinder her, both girls knocked over a chair and ended up sprawled on the floor.

"Girls! What on earth is going on in here?"

Two pairs of blue eyes glanced up at the silver-haired woman that had entered the room, her hands on her hips and the look in her eyes the bane of schoolchildren and teenagers alike.

"Mrs. Ka-Fai- I'm sorry it was an accident-"

"I was just trying to get the-" Chala looked around, then cursed loudly when she realized her prey had vanished.

"Chala! Watch your mouth!"

The scolding they received wasn't as bad as the one she got from her grandfather on the way home, in her opinion. Sure Raine was louder and looked madder, but the stern look in Kratos' eyes was a lot more scary in her eyes, at least he kept it short. He seemed frustrated, he always did when they left. It didn't make any sense, why did he go to see Yuan all the time if he just got mad leaving and was worried going there? Well she knew better than to push right at the moment anyway…

"Am I staying with you tonight, Grandpa?" she asked as they touched down in Iselia, walking into the village.

"No, Frank wants you over tonight," he stated, not looking back at her as they walked, "Dirk and I will see you tomorrow."

"But I've been at grandfather's for the past three weeks," she frowned, looking up at him. "Do you and Grandpa Dirk not want me over or something?"

"You know that's not it," Kratos sighed, rubbing his face, "Dirk has been busy with orders lately, and I'm usually not there to begin with. You'd have no one to visit with to begin with."

"Well then why don't' you take me with you?" she pouted. "You took me with you today, where are you always going anyway-"

"Cheresea," he said flatly, "No."

Something about the way he said that let her know there was no hope in arguing. Instead she bit her lip and sighed, looking around the growing town as they made their way in. They told her that this place used to be a small village, and while it wasn't a city in itself, it was a large town. It was hard to imagine it small as they claimed.

Kratos knocked on the door of the house when they finally arrived, the small house her mother's father lived in, though she did now and then. She was always shuffling back and forth between the village and the house out in the woods. Once the door opened, the gray-haired man smiled kindly at her, and barely welcomed them before a blur of ruddy and black fur dashed through the house, between Frank's legs and lunged at Kratos.

The angel swore and grabbed the animal in mid-leap, the cat hissing and slashing wildly at hi, attempting to do him any manner of harm possible.

"Mr. Fluffikins!" Cheresea half yelped half scolded, trying to grab the raging furball. "Stop it! Leave Grandpa alone!"

Kratos glowered down at the feline, which glared back up at him, growling lowly as the girl took him from the Seraph, chiding the animal. For some reason, the cat hated Kratos, why it was no one was very sure, but everytime he came by the little demon would lunge at him, scratching, yowling, and on one occasion, peed on his cape.

"Mr. Fluffikins," she scowled, "What did I tell you about-?"

She cut off when the animal purred loudly, licking her hand, its big ice-blue eyes gazing up at her helplessly. Cheresea stiffened and then smiled weakly, scratching behind his ears.

"That animal is a menace," Kratos said flatly, glaring at the animal with obvious disdain.

"But…he's so cute," she frowned, petting him, "I'm sure he doesn't mean it….right Mr. Fluffikins?'

The animal twitched a bit, but continued to purr, mewling softly as he rubbed against her.

"Hmph," Kratos frowned, "Behave yourself for Frank, Cheresea, we'll see you tomorrow."

He walked off with a brisk nod after they said their goodbyes, heading for the clearing in the woods. Dirk's house was nearby, but that wasn't his destination. He came upon it soon enough, the abandoned clearing, the fallen timbers decaying into the ground.

This was where their home had been…where they had lived after they had married, after they had had his granddaughter. At the time he had been happy again, had been glad…glad to be alive again, glad to have let himself get talked into staying, glad to have seen his son's wedding, seen their child born…

Then one day nothing was left here but an injured Noishe cradling a sobbing toddler under a fallen frame.

Why did he keep losing everything…still…he wasn't going to give up on his son again.

He frowned, kneeling down and picking up a piece of the rubble, scanning it as if it might somehow tell him what had happened.

There was a chance…a slim chance, but he would take it. He wouldn't label his son off as dead again until he confirmed it himself.

**Hm…I suppose that's good to begin with, I probably shouldn't have posted this but….well I'm an attention hog. I'm curious to see what reactions this gets, as it's going to be very different from the original and yet…not, …okay it's going ot be like the original except with a focus on plot. GASP. Yeah …well tellm e what you think**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well here's chapter two. I'm amazed how most of the comments were proclaiming their love for Fred the Cricket O.o**

**Fred: Crick! (dances in happiness) **

**Right well…..**

**Hope you like.**

**Thank to Symphoniafan for helping me with this chap **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

High pitched meowing woke her from her dreams. Groaning she sat upright and rubbed her face. Mr. Fluffikins- or just 'Fluffi' when she felt lit- was clawing on the door, already yowling to be let out. With a sigh she swung her legs over and touched her feet to the floor, feeling the wooden grain underneath. With a yawn she walked to the door in a half-daze, pushing it open a bit for her cat.

Fluffi dashed out and she closed the door, sluggishly making her way to her dresser. As she readied herself she smelled breakfast being made, her grandfather Frank making pancakes. Breakfast and Fluffi were two of the best things about her grandfather's, as neither Dirk or Kratos particularly liked cooking anything...edible. Nor could they tolerate her cat.

Then again, Frank spoiled her, or so claimed her other grandfathers and their friends. She didn't quite see that. Sure he wasn't as strict as Kratos or as rough as Dirk, but she just figured they were all different like that.

"Good morning, Cheresea." Frank smiled at her when she came into the kitchen. "Breakfast is ready."

A stack of strawberry-topped pancakes, three strips of bacon, scrambled eggs, toast and fresh orange juice.

"Again, Grandfather?" She tilted her head. "Don't you ever run out of pancake batter? ...Or get tired of going through the hassle?"

He laughed, smiling and crinking the wrinkles by his eyes.

"Not at all. Besides, you're going to Kratos and Dirk's for a while..." His face fell a bit.

"So I might as well, right?"

Cheresea fidgeted it a bit. He looked at her like that sometimes, the same way Kratos and Dirk'd look at her. It was the same look for all of them, more or less, though a little different for each of them.

She had managed to piece it together it was that they missed her parents, but Dirk had told her that Kratos and Frank both...regretted. What exactly they regretted no one ever told her, but she guessed perhaps that was why they were both so protective...

In completely different ways of course.

"Don't worry about the plates, I'll take care of it-" He went to grab it when she was done.

"No, Grandfather, I've got it-" she tried to take it herself.

"No, no I got it." He took it. "I insist, don't worry about it."

She sighed, slumping back in her chair.

Fluffi jumped up onto her lap, purring loudly. Absentmindedly she scratched behind his ears, scanning the room. As always her gaze settled onto the grouping of portraits on the far wall. Her grandfather and grandmother in one picture, her great-grandmother she had never met, and then there were the two that she always found herself staring at.

There was one with her grandparents, a small five year old blonde girl between them. Her mother, Colette; then beside it a more recent picture...

Her parents on their wedding day, her mother in the white gown, practically glowing as she smiled to the world. She was beautiful, at least Cheresea had always thought so, and the gown only served to make her moreso. Then there was her father beside her in the photo, a tall, handsome, happy man. It wasn't hard to see the relation between her father and Kratos.

Though she had never seen her grandpa that happy, at least not that she could remember.

A knock at the door shook her from her daze, smirking a bit to herself when she noted the time. Speak of the devil, he was here. She slipped out of the chair before Frank could stop her, Fluffi yowling a bit in discomfort as he had to abandon the warm lap. She pulled the door open and smiled at Kratos as the man reflexively grabbed the cat that lunged at him, the animal spitting and clawing. Cheresea sighed and wrenched the animal away, scolding him.

"Mr. Fluffikins, why do you always do that?"

"He's evil," Kratos said flatly, looking at her. "Do you have all your things together?"

"Oh- yeah I have it upstairs," she replied with a nod. "I'll go get it."

She didn't bother putting the cat down, he would have just caused more trouble. He'd be better off in her room, at least until they left, then Frank could let him out. The furry animal was good with everyone, really, just not Kratos. Dirk didn't like him because he claimed cats made him sneeze, but no one else had a problem with him…

She grabbed her bag, closing the door on the growling cat and headed back downstairs. After a goodbye to Frank she headed off with her paternal grandfather, a slight skip in her step. Though that didn't last long, not when she noticed the angel was even more solemn than usual.

"Grandpa?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"Did something happen?" she asked, looking up at him hesitantly.

"No, hurry along," he replied simply, not bothering to look down at her.

Yup, something was definitely up. Did it have something to do with yesterday? He seemed distracted after they left- well, more so than usual. Her grandpa's mind was always off somewhere, like his body was just left behind on auto-pilot, nothing more than a vessel to get him where he needed to obtain more fodder for his thoughts.

"Grandpa-"

"I'm going to drop you off at Dirk's, I'll be back tomorrow."

She twitched.

"What-? Grandpa, why? Where are you-"

"That's nothing you need worry about," He said, glancing down at her. "You'll stay with Dirk-"

"But where are you going?"

"Cheresea-"

The Seraph looked at her a long moment, his face pursing in a frown. Those eyes may have been Colette's, but the girl was undeniably his son's child. Her nose, her cheeks, feminine of course but still so Lloyd's… Kratos sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I'm going to Meltokio, I'm just going to run some errands, you'll be bored."

"Meltokio?" her eyes lit up. "Can I go? I haven't seen Trethe in a while- "

"The Wilders will probably be busy-"

"But if they aren't I can just hang out there and you can do your errands, I won't be in your hair or anything!" she pleaded. "Please Grandpa? I haven't seen them in a long time…"

Kratos sighed, rubbing his face.

"Fine then."

* * *

><p>The city was a continuously growing metropolis, vibrant markets and people, stunning architecture.<p>

He still found it insufferably crowded.

Despite his discomfort, the girl's eyes were alight. She found such fascination in the place for some reason, though then again it did offer far more stimulation then the little town she lived in; even Sybak fascinated her, so why should he expect her not to be here?

"Hey, isn't that one of Zelos' maids?"

His russet eyes followed her gaze, spotting a young girl in the maid garb purchasing produce at a stand. It wasn't uncommon to see young children employed as servants, usually those in poverty or orphans would be employed. By law they were supposed to provide them with an education as they grew, but more often than not other than basic math and literacy, the nobles that employed them neglected spending time on 'urchins'. One glaring exception to this which had become quite famous as a result was the Wilder household; Zelos and Sheena wouldn't refuse anyone that came asking for work, and they took in many orphans that the orphanages didn't have room for, or simply poor children their parents couldn't provide for.

"Hey, you're…Sari, right?" Cheresea said, having dashed over to the girl.

She was about a year younger than her, though considerably shorter. The maid cap hid most of her hair, though a few dark chestnut hairs slipped from it into her similarly colored eyes.

"Huh-? Oh, you're Master Zelos' niece right?" she cracked a small smile, her voice soft and unsure.

"Wh-? Oh, no, I just call him uncle; he was friends with my parents," she explained with a smile of her own.

"Oh yes, my mistake," she said quietly, shifting the basket of goods into both her hands. "Were you…going to go see Master Zelos?"

"We're headed for the Wilder residence, yes." Kratos nodded, coming up behind Cheresea.

"Oh! We can go together then, were you heading back?" his granddaughter asked.

"I suppose so…" Sari muttered, glancing up warily at the tall swordsman.

"Great!" Cheresea smiled.

Kratos frowned, eying the blue-eyed girl. Why was she always so enthusiastic? Did she get that from her father? Or perhaps it was her mother talking, with that friendly smile plastered in an instant without any regard to who the stranger was…granted the young maid wasn't a complete stranger, but he was certain Cheresea didn't know her enough to warrant such friendly conversation.

He frowned, glancing at both girls, noticing the wary look from the young maid. There was a glint of suspicion in the brown eyes, but Sari quickly looked away after making eye contact.

"Please follow me, I'll lead you there," she said, heading up the stairs.

"Thanks, Sari!" Cheresea chirped.

Kratos silently followed, not bothering to mention that he already knew the way. The girl was heading there as it was, they might as well go together then, seeing as Cheresea seemed to be thinking highly of it.

They had reached the mansion doors when Sari turned to them and gave a little curtsey.

"I have to use the servant's entrance, you see," she said as she straightened. "I shall see you inside perhaps…"

"Oh…well thanks for bringing us here, Sari." Cheresea nodded her head.

"It's no problem, really," she smiled gently "I must be off now…"

Her brown eyes scanned them both a moment before she excused herself, walking around to an adjoining path. Kratos knocked on the door and the butler admitted them, asking them to wait in the room while he alerted his employer.

Cheresea smiled as she scanned the room, her eyes alight again. Kratos watched her but did not sit, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword as he delved into his thoughts once more. He had contacted Zelos beforehand, so things had better already be prepared. They had to get access to the data in the research building in the city, that is if Yuan's latest lead amounted to anything whatsoever.

"Why hello, Old Man! You doing well?"

Kratos and Cheresea looked to the hall, where Zelos stood with his usual smug smirk; at his side a red haired young boy grinned, waving enthusiastically at them.

"Hi Cheresea!" he beamed, his little arm a blur.

"Hi, Sano."Sshe smiled back, walking up to them and then leaning down a bit to look at the boy. "Wow you're getting big."

"Uh-huh, Momma says I'm a big boy!" he replied, speaking so fast his words blurred together.

"Sanosuke, what did we tell you about slowing down?" Zelos scolded lightly, an eyebrow raised down at his son.

"Sorry Daddy." The boy pouted, shuffling his feet.

"Speaking of getting big, you're still growing like a weed." Zelos smirked, head tilted as he examined the girl. "Looking more like your mom too, those sparkly blue eyes of yours."

"Uhm…thanks." She nodded a bit, looking at him and then over his shoulder.

"Looking for something, little angel?" he raised an eyebrow again, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Wh-? Oh, no, I was just-"

"Trethe is training with his mom in the backyard." Zelos' smirk reappeared. "They should be done in a few minutes."

"I wasn't looking for him!" Cheresea huffed, then crossed her arms, grumbling darkly.

"Zelos, did you get access?" Kratos spoke up.

"Well you didn't give me much notice!" Zelos huffed, crossing his arms across his chest. "But of course, being the Great Zelos Wilder, yeah I managed to get what was needed done, done."

"Good, then we can leave?"

"Grandpa?" Cheresea looked up at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Zelos is going to assist me with those errands, you're going to stay here," he said simply.

"Yeah, make yourself comfy, little angel," Zelos gave a small wink. "Sheena will want to see you and all; women always spazz out about kids growing or whatever…"

"I heard that."

In the signature puff of smoke, Sheena appeared by her husband, giving him a distinct evil eye. Not even a second later another followed, the couple's elder son appearing behind her.

"Was that right?" he asked.

"Almost, try relaxing a little more next time."

"Oh! Hi!" Cheresea beamed again.

"Wow! You really are still growing! You must have gotten at least a couple inches taller." Sheena smiled back at her.

"See, what did I tell you?" Zelos smirked.

Sheena rolled her eyes and lightly smacked her spouse, who just laughed. Their elder son, Trethe, stepped forward, donning his own Mizuhan training garb. The splitting image of his mother, aside from his bluel eyes flicking over them, though his dark hair had a distinctly Zelos-esque curl to it, even when it was cut short.

"Hey," He smirked. "Long time no see, Cheresea. Did you come to see me?"

"I came here to visit everyone not just you." The girl huffed, crossing her arms again.

"But you did come to see me?" the teen flashed a charming smile. "Aw you flatter me, cutie."

"Trethe, Trethe!" the young boy exclaimed, all but tackling his sibling. "You said you'd teach me to do the poofy thing too!"

"Well ,yeah, I will but-"

"You're not old enough yet, Sano." Sheena smiled, ruffling the younger boy's red hair. "Maybe next year I can teach you-"

"But Trethe said he'd teach me!" the boy pouted, glaring up at her.

"Don't give me attitude, Sano," Sheena scolded.

"Listen to your mom, boys," Zelos said, walking for the door. "And be nice to Cheresea, me and the old man are going somewhere."

"Behave, Cheresea," Kratos stated, then looked to Sheena. "Thank you for having her here."

"It's no problem at all." Sheena made a shooing motion. "Don't worry about it, the boys like having her over anyway."

"All right, we'll be back later, Cheresea." He nodded at her.

"Okay, Grandpa," She said.

With that they left.

"All right, you kids have fun and keep an eye out for Sanosuke," Sheena said. "I've got some things to take care of, shouldn't take me too long."

"All right Aunt Sheena," Cheresea nodded.

"Yes, Mom."

With another poof of smoke she was gone.

"Will you play with me, Cheresea?" Sano asked, tugging her sleeve.

"Uhm…sure, we can play."

"Great! Hide and seek, I'm gonna hide! Bye!"

He raced off before they could even say anything.

"Well, guess we're going to have to find him," Trethe rolled his eyes. "Kid'll stay hiding for hours if we don't- …"

The young ninja smirked and plopped down in a chair, kicking back. Cheresea looked at him, questioning, until the young man just laughed.

"He's out of our hair," he explained, winking at her.

"Trethe," she scowled.

"I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding!" he laughed, flipping back onto his feet. "Besides it'd be my head on a platter if he hurt himself or something."

"Okay…so let's go." She nodded.

He winked at her, stretching a bit before looking down the hallway his younger brother had raced down.

"Well let's get a move on, as fast as that kid is he's probably hiding already."

She always liked coming to the Wilder house. It was almost like another home, but she supposed every place felt like that. Her parents' friends always treated her like family and Sheena and Zelos were no different; in many ways, Sheena was as close to a mother figure she could find. She was always fussing about her. Then again maybe that was because she didn't have any daughters of her own. Trethe and Sano were both a handful, especially when they carried a lot of their father's genes…

"So, still flat as a pancake I see?" he smirked.

Too much of them maybe.

"Shut up!" she huffed, glaring at him as her cheeks tinted pink. "Why the heck are you looking anyway?"

"Very good point, not much to look at," Trethe replied with a shrug.

"Jerk," she muttered.

Hide and seek was one of Sanos' favorite games, and he was very, very good at it. Maybe it was the little bit of ninja technique he had learned, but he was a master of hiding. It didn't help that the Wilder mansion was huge to begin with, even a normal kid wouldn't have a hard time finding a place to stow away in here. When she was little, in fact, she had often participated in the game herself with Trethe. They'd hide from his parents, but Sheena always managed to find them somehow….

"Hm, fork in the road," Trethe noted as they came to a divide in the corridors.

"We splitting up then?'" she asked.

"What? Splitting up?" he stared at her. "Cheresea I didn't even know we were together! How could you break my heart right when you gave me yours?"

She just glared at him. The boy smirked and then shrugged, stretching his arms before resting them behind his head, glancing down both paths.

"I'll take the right way, then, that all right?" he looked at her.

"Why wouldn't it be all right?" she blinked.

He laughed.

"Hm, guess I was just wondering." He smirked. "Okay then, meet you back in the room after we look, m'kay? Don't get lost."

She nodded and they split ways. Trethe had been getting more sarcastic lately…well not sarcastic, just uhm…what was it Sheena always said? Obnoxious? No that was too harsh..joking? Well that was as close as she was going to get-

It was then she noticed Sari, the little maid walking down the hall in front of her. The girl was..unsteady, swaying a little, like she was going to fall. Cheresea frowned. Was she sick or something? She did look a little pale earlier, maybe she should-

"Master Trethe skipped lunch again."

She stopped, frowning, hearing the voice coming from one of the open doors. She didn't recognize the voice, some of the maids she supposed.

"That boy, he's never going to grow into his father's stature if he keeps starving himself."

"Well, I blame his mother if you ask me. All that unnecessary training, and for what? Primitive Mizuhan rituals?"

"Shhh…someone might hear you."

"Master Trethe would have been better off having a proper mother, one to educate him in the arts, not running him ragged learning silly flips and tricks."

"The boy is senseless…"

"Well it's not his fault he was born of a barbarian."

Cheresea frowned deeply, feeling her brow furrow in annoyance. Who the hell were they to say something like that about her friends? What kind of jerks-

Thud.

The sound drew her attention and she looked down the hall, having heard the sound. What-? Oh! Sari! Dammit she'd forgotten! Cursing herself for being so easily distracted, she raced down the hall a bit, looking through the doors. After a moment she found an empty, dark study, the young maid passed out on the floor.

"Sari-? Sari!" she choked, her eyes widening.

The girl's breathing was ragged and forced, her skin sickly pale against her dark brown hair. Her eyes were squeezed shut tightly, sweat breaking out over her face as her hair splayed out from under her disheveled cap.

"Sari-"

"Hm, well this looks unpleasant." A deep voice stated.

A chill ran down her spine and she whipped her head to a corner of the dark room, where a figure stood concealed in the shadows. A figure that hadn't been there a second ago.

"Wh- wh-"

"It seems you have a problem, hm?"

**And lo it is doooonne Hope you liked **


	3. Chapter 3

**M'kay, I've been in a massive writing rut lately, though I'm sure none of you are going to even notice that sentence so I'll just keep trucking.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

She caught sight of the pale flesh underneath the shadow of the hood, though his face was protected from visibility from the darkness of the room and the added effect of said hood. Sari panted on the ground, her eyes squeeze shut tightly, her fingers gripping into the plush rug.

"Shut the door," the figure said, walking forward and kneeling by the fallen maid.

"Wh- what-?" Cheresea stammered, unsure of how she was supposed to register this sudden surreal incident.

"Shut the door, I won't be able to help her if someone catches me here," he replied, putting a hand onto Sari's forehead, his pale skin eerie in the darkness.

"I-"

She hesitated a moment, as anyone would, but then she did something most people probably would not have. Cheresea closed the door, turning on the light quickly so she wasn't left alone in the darkness with the stranger. He flinched a bit when she turned on the light, she noticed, but he said nothing, examining Sari.

"Who-?"

She didn't get to finish her question when the man scooped up the young maid, walking over and then setting her onto the couch.

"Are you her friend?" He asked as he fumbled for something in his cloak, though he still hadn't turned her direction.

"I- I- yes," she replied, staring at him a bit, then at Sari.

"All right, listen to me carefully," he said, pulling out a small bottle from the folds of his dark cloak. "When a medic gets here they'll want to use a healing spell on her, don't let them do that."

"What-? Why- what's going on-?"

He ignored her, popping the cork out of the bottle and a strong odor immediately filled the air, nearly knocking her off her feet. The man held Sari's nose and held the lip of the bottle to her mouth, the half-conscious servant choking and sputtering, her face scrunched up in disgust.

"I know, I know…" he hushed her, tilting the bottle. "Tastes awful…come on, kid…"

The girl squirmed for just a second and then relaxed, her breathing steadying slowly, though she still looked in pretty bad shape. Cheresea stared another moment then shook her head violently, attempting to get her wits about her to understand what was going on.

"What was that-? Is she going to be okay? What happened to her? Who are you?"

Finally he turned toward her, but she couldn't see him clearly, just the smirk that curled into his lips.

"Don't really have a name, but that's not important right now," he said, turning back to the ill girl. "Remember, no one uses healing arts, got it? Trust me it won't end well. She needs a lot of fluids and keep her warm, don't let her get chilly, and give her a lot of meats."

"Meats-? What the – look-"

"She's sick, I'm telling you how to help her," he said, capping the bottle and nearly shoving it into her hands. "A teaspoon of that every two hours. Got it? No healing arts, now-"

"Wait!" She snapped finally, her frustration tinting her face pink. "Who are you? How did you get here, how do you know how to help her- what IS this stuff?"

The man looked down at her, his head tilted slight to the side, a slight curl in the corner of his lips. She had the distinct feeling that he was amused by her, like she was a little kid trying to be intimidating to a parent. He nearly said something when there was a knock on the door.

"Cheresea? You in there?"

"Aunt Sheena-" She cut off, looking back at the stranger.

Or at least, looking where he had just been, seeing as there was no trace of the man to be found, aside from the foul-smelling bottle in her hand.

"Cheresea, what's that smell? Someone heard voices in there-"

The girl scanned the room again, finding no trace of him still. She stopped a moment, trying to wrap her mind around it when she remembered with a start that Sari needed help. She quickly opened the door, revealing a frowning Sheena.

"Cheresea what-?" The woman cut off, her eyes widening. "Sari? What happened?"

"She collapsed and I found her in here and…"

"This is bad, she's burning up!" Sheena bit her lip. "I'll get a doctor, stay with her and I'll get Zelos to try to heal her-"

"N- No!" She shook her head. "We can't use healing magic."

"What? Cheresea what are you talking about-? And what is that stuff?" Sheena frowned, eying the bottle.

"I- I'll explain later, okay?" She said, looking at Sari. "Once we get a doctor."

Sheena eyed her a moment more, skeptical, but nodded.

"Stay right here, I'll be back." She said, disappearing with a puff of smoke.

Cheresea looked at the bottle in her hand, then at Sari, wondering for just a minute if that man would reappear. He didn't, but she didn't have time for that right now. What had he said? Fluids, meat, keep her warm…every- what was it? Two hours for this stuff in the bottle? Okay well she could start with the keeping her warm thing, there had to be some blankets in the closets or something. She placed the bottle on the table, rushing over to the closet and scouring it for any kind of covers she could find. Gathering them in her arms she quickly pulled them over Sari, tucking her into them.

The girl frowned deeply, eying the young maid, her little cap still sitting askew on her head. Cheresea pulled the cap off, placing it beside the bottle, noting just how pale she looked in comparison to her dark chestnut hair.

"Hold on, Sari…" She murmured, brushing her bangs from her eyes.

She seemed better than she had when she found her, yes, but she still looked pretty bad. What was that stuff? Why did that guy have it? Who or what was he anyway? Maybe when the doctor got here-

"That man was scary," a voice said.

Cheresea stiffened, scanning the room quickly and locating the speaker. He had been crouched under the end table, just now poking his red-haired head out.

"Sano-?" She stared. "What- when did you-?"

"I was hiding in here," he said as he got to his feet, looking nervously around the room, then at the older girls. "But then Sari fell down and you and that guy showed up and…"

He fidgeted, his gaze falling to his feet while he shuffled them sheepishly.

"I got scared so I didn't come out…" he admitted quietly.

"So you saw that guy? You can help me tell your mom?"

The boy nodded hesitantly, fidgeting as he glanced at the door, then back at her.

"I…okay, but I don't want mom asking me questions, especially when she's worried, she gets scary," he mumbled, his large eyes pleading with her.

"..All right, don't worry then, I'll do the talking you just…let them know I'm not crazy."

"Okay…should I go get Trethe?" He asked, looking at the door again. "He could…help…maybe?"

"I don't really see how he could help-…oh, yes, go ahead."

The boy ran out of the room. Cheresea sighed, rubbing her face. Sano knew very well that his brother couldn't help, but he wasn't going to him for that. He always ran to his big brother whenever he was scared or nervous, but he never liked to admit that was why.

It wasn't long before the Wilder family, minus Zelos, had congregated into the room with the doctor. Trethe frowned, Sano half-hiding behind his older brother while Sheena and Cheresea anxiously awaited the doctor's diagnosis. The aging man frowned as he scanned the young maid, shaking his head and turning to Sheena.

"I don't know what it is…she's definitely got a fever, of course, but these other symptoms…I've never seen something quite like it."

"You don't know what's wrong with her?" Sheena frowned deeply, scanning her young maid.

"No, I'm afraid not...my advice would be to try to keep her fever down, plenty of bedrest and fluids," he said as he straightened, collecting his things. "I'll try to figure out exactly what she has and get back to you as soon as possible, but for now that's really all you can do for her."

"It's very serious isn't it…?" The ninja muttered. "Is it contagious?"

"I don't know...but it is very serious. I suggest you get these children out of the room, just in case it is."

Sheena frowned and then nodded again.

"Okay, you three, out," she said, rounding on her charges.

"But Aunt Sheena-" Cheresea began.

"We can talk about what happened later," the woman cut her off. "I don't want to risk any of you getting sick too, now get out- go to the living room and stay there. Okay? I'll come and check on you in a little bit."

Cheresea hesitated, catching gazes with Trethe, who frowned back at her. They knew they wouldn't win with Sheena; she didn't tend to boss them around too much, but when she was worried there was no way in hell they were going to win with her. Mrs. Wilder was known for being stubborn as an ox, but even better known for being extremely protective of her children, which more often than not seemed to include Cheresea.

"Aunt Sheena, I have to tell you something, it's important." Cheresea attempted again, despite knowing the futility.

"I'll be right there, okay? Just go."

"But-"

"Cheresea! I said go!" Sheena snapped, glaring down at the girl. "I know you're worried, we all are, but there's nothing you can do right now, so do as I say!"

And there was no arguing with that.

They did as they were told, Cheresea carrying the bottle off before Sheena could remember it, unsure if she should leave it there. Luckily it seemed it only smelled when it was open, but she was curious as to what was inside. As were the Wilder boys.

"So what is that?" Trethe asked once they were a fair distance away.

"It smells like poop," Sanosuke explained with a little huff.

"He made her drink it and it helped-"

"Who is 'he'? Sano said something about some guy showing up, what's going on?" Trethe frowned, scanning her and then his little brother, who continued to cling to his arm.

"Well…we'll explain once your mom comes, so I don't have to go over all of it twice…"

"Oh come on, let me see it." He attempted to take it from her.

"No," she retorted sharply, wrenching it away. "It's some kind of medicine, it helped her so-"

"What's going on?"

The trio turned, as Kratos and Zelos had just entered the room.

"Grandpa-?"

"Dad? You're back already? I thought you were going to the archives." Trethe blinked.

"Well we were, anyway." Zelos shrugged, scanning his sons and the young girl. "But the Old Man here-"

Kratos walked forward, grabbing the bottle from Cheresea before she had a chance to say anything. The girl flinched and stammered, trying to get an explanation while her grandfather surveyed the bottle, uncorking it allowing the smell to exude out from it. Everyone cringed, holding their noses in disgust while Kratos' face merely contorted into a frown.

"Where did you get this?" he asked, his russet eyes sweeping down to his granddaughter.

"Huh-? I- "

"Okay guys I- Zelos? Kratos? What are you doing here? I was just going to send for you," Sheena said, having entered the room herself.

"Why? What's going on, babe?" Zelos frowned, scanning his wife and the scene playing out before him.

"Well…Sari's sick-"

Kratos flinched.

"Sick," he said flatly, his eyes locking on Sheena.

"Wh- yeah, and Cheresea found her and-"

"Cheresea where did you get this? What happened?"

"I-"

"Woah woah woah! Okay, let's start from the beginning here, huh?" Zelos huffed, his eyes narrowed as he scanned those assembled. "Cheresea, tell us what happened."

She fell silent a moment, then nodded, swallowing.

"I...I was playing hide and seek with Sano," she began hesitantly. "And then I found Sari in one of the rooms on the floor and she looked really sick and…"

"The scary guy showed up," Sano mumbled quietly, hiding behind his brother.

"Guy?" Trethe tensed. "What guy? What happened?"

"This…we didn't see what he looked like, this guy showed up out of nowhere and he had this cloak on and he said he could help Sari," Cheresea explain, fidgeting just a bit. "He gave her stuff from that bottle and told me how to take care of her-"

Once again she didn't get to finish her sentence, seeing as her grandfather had grabbed her arm and was now dragging her down the hall he had seen Sheena enter from. Cheresea- as well as the others- all let out their various exclamations of surprise.

"Where was this?" Kratos snapped, looking down at his granddaughter. "Take me to the room. Now."

There was nothing in that tone that gave any room for arguing. The girl bit her lip but then dashed off down the hall, her grandfather striding quickly behind her along with the remainder of the group.

"In here- hey!"

Kratos pushed past her and quickly entered the room. The ancient Seraph scanned the room quickly and then walked over to the sleeping Sari, putting his hand to her forehead.

"The- the doctor said he didn't know what it was-"Sheena began.

"He wouldn't," Kratos said flatly, but there was an unnerving tinge to his voice, like one confirming bad news to himself.

"Wh- you know what it is? Grandpa, can you help her?"

The man stayed silent a long moment, his eyes on the sleeping maid. Before another word could be said he pulled the covers back and pulled the sleeve up on Sari's arm. Kratos furrowed his brow, tapping a spot on her pale flesh with his middle and index finger.

"Uh… What are you doing, exactly?" Zelos raised an eyebrow, but he kept his gaze focused on Sari.

"…"

Then it appeared. A white, hard, leathery plate that spread across the offended area, like an ivory scale.

"What the-?" Trethe blurted.

"Just as I thought…" Kratos murmured, rubbing his face. "For one, she's not contagious. Secondly this room is too cold, either she needs to be moved to a warmer space or given more blankets."

"So you know what this is, Old Man?" Zelos asked, eyeing him.

"Yes," he replied simply as he tucked Sari in again. "I've only seen it twice before, but it's quite distinctive, as you saw."

"So you can help her?" Cheresea asked again, looking up at her grandfather hopefully.

"…Yes, she can recover if given the proper care," he answered, though his russet eyes were unfocused, misted as they fell to the floor.

"Like eating meats?" Sano asked hesitantly, now hiding behind his mother.

Kratos looked at him, as did the little red-head's family.

"How do you know that?" Kratos asked, though Cheresea had the feeling he knew.

"That's what the man said…" the boy squeaked, clinging to his mother's tunic. "The man that gave Cheresea the smelly stuff."

Once again all eyes fell on her, and she knew a lengthier explanation was in order.

They were going to be there a while.

* * *

><p>"You're serious? Kratos the odds of that are-"<p>

"I know very well what it was, Yuan," Kratos growled into the communicator, rubbing his face. "How many diseases make someone grow scales?"

"Besides Crystallus Innofficium?"

"Yes." Kratos sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation.

Granted that had come up in discussion earlier with the Wilders. The children had asked as well, after all there was nothing to their knowledge that could cause someone to suddenly develop a scale- regardless if it vanished not a minute after that. He simply had explained it as some sort of rash, and they had bought it, but there was nothing else for them to consider..

"Okay, so the girl is one," Yuan admitted over the line. "I know it's...touchy, for you, but the fact is it happens. She's not the only one, you know, it's just coincidence."

"I know that!" Kratos snapped.

Yuan fell silent and the swordsman took a deep breath, rubbing his face as he tried to reclaim his composure. Okay…calm down, it was just coincidence, like he said, but...

"That's not what's important," Kratos spoke again. "Yuan someone…else, showed up."

"Someone else? Who?"

"Cheresea saw him. A man in a cloak, with pale skin…he knew about the disease and had a bottle of Senliv Nectar."

There was nothing but soft static over the intercom as Kratos stood there, staring at it as if that would somehow make his companion respond more quickly.

"You're joking."

"Yuan, when have I ever joked about anything?"

"That's a very valid point, but it seems just as likely in comparison to what you're telling me."

The Seraph sighed, his brow furrowed deeply while his fingers clenched and unclenched on the hilt of his sword.

"Okay so…one is wandering around like that? How come he hasn't changed yet? Unless he's 'new' or whatever but even then why would one…"

"That's the point," he replied quietly. "It doesn't make sense. Cheresea told me she tried to get his name, but he replied that he didn't have one."

"Okay well that makes it a little easier, at least we know he's not one of them, right? So then the question is-…he must be 'new', then?"

"Yes."

"Well…that's certainly odd, Kratos, but again it's not like it's anything unheard of, it's just-"

"Yuan, think a moment," the Seraph growled just a bit. "If he recently arrived then that must mean that he knows the way."

There was another pause, and Kratos could nearly see the half-elf frowning, considering it to himself in his convoluted mind.

"Or that the maid might."

"Exactly."

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

**Well I hope that chapter wasn't too fast or too slow…was trying to balance it a bit but that might have backfired. Not sure. Well that aside I hope you enjoyed it. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Okaaaay finally updated this. Yays ? **

**Disclaimer: Still own nothing**

She had fallen asleep, dozing softly at the bedside of the young maid. Kratos frowned, observing his sleeping grandchild in the chair beside the ill girl. The man was silent a moment before he sighed, gently scooping Cheresea out of the chair and then carrying her out, closing the door with his shoulder behind him. What had she been thinking? What did the girl think she was going to accomplish by sitting by an ill girl she barely knew? That was her mother, he thought to himself, the child had the most irritating capacity for making anyone's suffering her own. It was admirable in a way, he supposed, but she had to learn to apply that passion in ways that were useful; sitting in silence in the middle of the night was not useful.

The Seraph walked through the halls, glancing down at the girl as she murmured, subconsciously snuggling up against him as if she was a young child. He opened the door to the guestroom, walking in and silently slipping her into one of the beds, pulling off her shoes and belt before tucking the covers in around her. She was much too old to be carried to bed…why did he do it then, he wondered briefly, though he didn't have much time to wonder.

"She didn't come to bed then?"

He didn't have to turn to know who it was; Kratos swept Cheresea's bangs from her eyes before turning, nodding at his old friend. Yuan stood in the doorway, silent, scanning the girl and then Kratos.

"So where's the maid?"

"Resting in another room," Kratos said, walking out into the hall as the half-elf stepped aside.

"Good, so where's the room where he showed up?"

"I'll take you there," he said.

"Did you take the Senliv nectar from her?"

The human paused, scanning his old friend. He slipped his hand into his pack, pulling out the small, opaque bottle and handing it to Yuan.

"…Yes, that's definitely Senliv nectar," Yuan muttered to himself, grimacing a bit. "Smells horrendous."

"Did you think I would mistake it?" Kratos half-snorted, turning his eyes down the hall.

"No, not at all, I just like to confirm things myself." Yuan pocketed the bottle, following the swordsman. "I'm guessing you already searched the room, did you find anything?"

"No, but you're more adept at sensing mana than I am." Kratos shook his head. "And …Charin mana is pretty potent."

"The new ones are anyway," Yuan muttered. "I can't believe the girl slipped that from under us though."

"She has her reasons, no doubt," he replied. "They all do."

"Yes, yes, but that's not important-"

"I haven't been able to question the maid yet," Kratos cut him off. "She's too ill to speak much."

"I had figured, if all else fails though I'm sure we'll get some information out of her when she recovers."

The two angels walked in silence and upon reaching the room analyzed it in that same silence. Yuan frowned deeply, scanning the room, kneeling here and there to look at seemingly nothing on the carpeted floor.

"Definitely a Charin," Yuan murmured after a moment. "Fresh out of -…"

The half-elf peered into the fibers, pinching his slender fingers around what appeared to be a white hair, lifting it to his vision. Yuan turned his head to Kratos, holding it to him.

"…We already established he's a Charin, Yuan, what we need to know is where he is- and who he is." Kratos frowned, but took the hair.

He scanned it intently, the frown etched into his features, his eyes narrowed intently on it. This could be the break he was looking for, the key to discovering where his son and daughter-in-law were- …if they were even alive. It was unlikely, he knew, and everyone had accepted them as dead as it was. Still, he had made the mistake of thinking his son dead once, he wasn't about to do it again…not when Lloyd had a child that deserved to have him in her life.

It was worth the chance, worth the opportunity- worth the….risk…

His throat tightened.

Yes….it had to be.

If only the angels had known, however, that the one they sought was much closer than they had anticipated. The cloaked figure sat laxly upon the roof of the cathedral, gazing out to the noble quarters, his eyes falling on the Wilder home. He hadn't expected to find another here, it was just bad luck the girl was as sick as she was. The man stretched, letting out a sigh as he leaned back against a turret, making himself comfortable as a frown worked into his face.

That girl.

Somehow that girl would lead him to it…

What was it? He wasn't quite sure, honestly, he didn't really quite remember. There was something, he knew…something important to him, something that needed him…but he couldn't even remember what it was. To say it was frustrating was an understatement at best, How long…had it been now? He didn't even know, months, years? It all seemed to blur together, the days…the days spent searching aimlessly, trying to scrounge for anything that could spark his memory, for something that could recall to his mind what it was that was so precious to him, what was so important that he had to do that nagged at the back of his mind.

He sighed again, craning his head up to look up at the night sky.

"…Well at least this is something," he muttered to himself, closing his eyes.

Finally, finally he had a lead…he brushed the white hairs from his eyes, gazing off to the mansion once more. Finally he found something….it would be the girl, she would be what would lead him to his memories, what would lead him to what was important to him. He couldn't exactly stick around, not in the open, as people tended to have…negative, reactions to his appearance.

It's not like he was exactly normal after all, he remembered enough to know that much.

The man sighed again, slipping his bag up onto his lap, searching through it. He was completely out of luck if he got sick himself, he had given all the nectar to the girl, but at least he had a few others to get by with. Where he'd gotten them or how he knew what they were, he wasn't sure either, but at least they served his purposes. Powdered Mari root, for scale rot, Fal pulp, for sprains, and a few shreds of some kind of leathery material he didn't recall the name of, but they were excellent for bandages…

And one last thing.

He frowned again, pulling out the gem, fiddling it between his pale fingers as the surface gleamed in the moonlight. It was the closest he had…he felt his memories flicker, like a fire beginning to spark, but the sparks would always die, leaving him just as vacant and empty as before.

He took a deep breath, slipping it back into his cloak and standing, his balance perfect despite the steep slope of the roof, gazing out onto the city. The night breeze blew it around his legs but he held the upper portion closed, frowning to himself.

He probably shouldn't hang around here too much longer.

The man simply hopped off the roof. Midway down he turned and kicked off against the wall of the building only to kick off of the adjacent one, landing neatly on his feet with barely a sound.

He had work to do after all.

* * *

><p>"Oh so you're awake?"<p>

The girl looked up at him and a flash of – something , passed through her eyes, but it was gone so quickly he half thought he had imagined it. Only half, of course, one should never let even slight details like that go. He'd learned that well enough in his extended lifespan.

"…Who are you?" she asked.

She certainly seemed timid, though there was something about the way she was looking at him he didn't like. Well that in itself was no big deal; he tended to piss people off. He was rather good at it.

"My name is Yuan, I'm a friend of the Wilders," he explained as he strode in.

"I've heard of you," she said simply, her fingers curled into her blanket, though she had yet to break his gaze.

She was a small little thing, definitely 'petite' for a girl her age, especially a human girl. Well then again, he had to keep in mind that she wasn't human- at least not entirely. She was a Charin he told himself, and he knew she'd know that. So, it was a simple matter of getting her to talk.

"Yes, your name is Sari, correct?" he said, pulling up a chair beside her bedside, where she had been settled under a small mountain of blankets. "Are you warm enough?"

"I'm fine," she said, not taking her eyes of him, though her expression remained neutral.

Definitely didn't like this kid…

"Okay well I'll get to the point," he said, eyes narrowing a bit. "I know you're a Charin. How did you get here?"

The girl flinched a bit but then frowned, her eyes finally lowering.

"Charin is my last name, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Don't play innocent missy." The half-elf scowled. "You know that's not what I mean."

"I don't know what- " she began, her fingers curling deeper into her blankets.

"Look, Kratos and I know exactly what you are, so why don't you save us all the trouble and fess up? You're not in any danger, we really don't care what you are, we just want to know how you managed to get here."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" she said again, a quiver beginning in her arms, her dark brown hair obstructing the view of her eyes. "Leave me alone, I'm- I'm not well-"

"Look. It's very important we find out how you got here, and anything you can tell us about the Charin that brought you that medicine."

Sari went silent a moment before she let out a soft snort.

"I was barely conscious when he showed up; I don't know who he is…"

"I see." Yuan frowned, but he had yet to look away. "All right then, like I asked, tell me how you got here, or how your parents got here, if that's the case-"

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said again, a hint of exasperation in her voice coupled with weariness.

She looked up again and despite his cynicism of her he couldn't deny the horrible paleness in the girl's skin, or the exhaustion in her eyes. In fact there was something familiar about that look…where…?

"…I'm not going until you tell-"

"Like you're one to talk," she interrupted, her eyes narrowing a bit. "You come in here thinking you know things about me, let me tell you something…I know things about you. Unlike you however, I am not just assuming them."

Silence fell, the Seraph and the maid staring at each other. They held each other's gaze a good few moments before Yuan's frown deepened, his eyes dangerous.

"Is that so? I find that hard to believe that a maid knows such things."

"Leave me alone," she said flatly, her voice catching a bit despite her stern look.

She was most likely bluffing, had to be after all, but strange… For one she wasn't in good health secondly she didn't seem the type from what he'd heard to be difficult about anything at all. Still…

"Look, girl, I said-"

"Leave me alone!"

Yuan's eyes widened, staring at the girl, who had yet to notice what had happened. She was glaring at him, her teeth gritted though she trembled violently, but that wasn't the alarming thing. It was the group of ivory scales that had appeared up the side of her face. Sari must have noticed his look because she quickly touched her face and yelped, throwing the blankets over her head and burrowing down into them like a cocoon.

"G- Get out! Leave me alone! Just- just leave me alone- please-" her voice choked a sob.

The half-elf frowned, but stood, heading to the door. Obviously there was nothing more he could do at this point. If he pressed it would only agitate her condition and that wasn't something he was keen on doing.

As he left he ran into the Wilder boy and Cheresea, whom had apparently been making their way to the room he just left.

"O- Oh, hi, Yuan," the girl said with a weak smile. "Uh- when did you get here?"

"You're not allowed into this room, I'm certain you've been told as such, haven't you?" the Seraph answered curtly.

The girl flinched.

"I- we just wanted to see how she was doing-"

"She's not in a state she could appreciate your visit in," Yuan said. "She needs some rest and time alone, you can come see her when her condition approves."

"Well someone is certainly edgy." Trethe rose an eyebrow, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Why exactly is my maid's health such an issue to you, huh, old man?"

"Arguing outside her door isn't going to do anything for her and I'm not letting you in." Yuan cut in sharply. "So spare all of us the time and just go on your way."

Cheresea went to protest when Trethe sighed, grabbing her arm and heading back down the way they had come.

"Wh- Trethe! Hey-" she snapped, attempting to pry her arm free.

"You hear him, it's a waste of time to try to go in now, besides she probably does need rest. I mean I would too after having to talk to Yuan, y'know?" the boy shot a small smirk back at her.

"Well…that's true," the girl muttered, glancing back over her shoulder at the half-elf. "But-"

"You have homework to do anyway, don't you?" Trethe asked. "You always get work to take with you when you leave the village."

"W- well- Grandpa doesn't want me to fall behind…" Cheresea fidgeted, finally pulling her arm from Trethe with a slight sigh. "I just- how can I work right now? Sari's sick and-"

"You sure are worried about her." Trethe raised a brow again. "I mean you barely know her…but then again I guess it's not just her that's got you all riled up, huh?"

The girl frowned, scanning her friend before glancing back down the hall, where Yuan still stood, waiting for them to get out of sight, no doubt. Of course she was worried about Sari, it wouldn't be right not to worry. …Still….there was the 'other' factors…

"What do you think they're hiding?" she said quietly, glancing to her friend.

"Eh?" Trethe voiced confusion, though his expression clearly said he knew what she meant.

"Grandpa took that bottle from me, he knew what it was, and now Yuan's here and Grandpa and Yuan are always showing up together when something weird happens." Cheresea frowned, hesitating before looking forward again. "So they know what it is, so maybe they know who that weird guy was, and it has something to do with Sari, and…."

"Sano was telling me about it," Trethe cut her off. "Sounded really creepy, from how he described him, but then again he is a little kid. Still, I know enough to figure out the guy wasn't exactly normal. How the hell he got into my mansion for example."

Cheresea frowned a bit. Yeah, she had wondered about that as well. The Wilder mansion not only had Meltokio guards but Sheena was the Chieftain of Mizuho. That meant there surely had to be several Shinobi agents hidden here and there around the manor, they were masters of detection and not being detected. No ordinary person could have possibly entered the Wilder estate without being noticed and intercepted by the Fujibayashi family's personal bodyguards….

"We've established that guy isn't normal." Trethe cut in, as if reading her thoughts. "What I want to know is what he is and why he cared enough to stop and try to help Sari. Does he know her, is there some kinda connection? That's what I'm guessing the old men think, Dad and Mom seem to be thinking along those lines too."

"So they're hiding stuff from us," Cheresea summed up, nervously gripping her arm.

"Again I figured we had already established that." Trethe gave a quiet laugh.

"Well- yeah-…don't laugh! I was just- kinda sayin' stuff," she huffed, crossing her arms. "I just want to know what it is! You know? I mean- "

"It could be none of our business, I suppose," Trethe said, looking ahead.

"Whose side are you on, Trethe?"

"Chill out, Babe," Trethe laughed again, smiling as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "I was just 'kinda sayin' stuff' too. Y'know we could probably try just asking them. That is you could ask your grandfather and I could ask my parents, I have a feeling they won't tell us anything but hey it won't hurt to ask. What are they going to do, you know? Ground us, worst case scenario."

"I-…well I guess we could but…" Cheresea sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "I don't know….I just- …I just want to know what's going on, that's not a bad thing, is it?"

"Not at all," her friend grinned. "In fact your curiosity is part of what makes you so damn cute, you're like a little kitten. Should I call you that from now on? Kitten?"

She flinched and scowled, ignoring the flush creeping into her cheeks.

"No, you're not going to call me 'kitten'-"

"I thought you liked kittens, Kitten?"

"I do but I don't want to be called one! Stop it!"

The young shinobi simply laughed, but silence followed soon after, both teens quiet again as they tried to wrap their minds around the situation.

"I hope Yuan wasn't scaring her," Cheresea said quietly, frowning.

"Hm? What makes you think he was, Kitten?" Trethe tilted his head to the side.

"Stop that. And I mean-…well…I don't know, just if they're hiding something and they're trying to talk to her about it, I just…."

She hesitated, biting her lip as she glanced back down the hall.

"Hey, Yuan's a creep but he wouldn't hurt a kid. He's got a darling little girl of his own, after all."

"Yeah, if you could call Chala that, anyway." Cheresea smirked weakly.

"Oh come on, smile, you're much cuter when you smile, Kitten-"

"I said to stop that!"

Trethe just laughed.

**Okay, the ending was kinda not as ….b ig as I wanted it to be, but seemed like a good place to stop. I wonder how many people read the first one and know what's going on….hm**

**Oh well, hope you enjoyed **


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